Come Wednesday, the Justice Ministry's National Task Force against Trafficking in Persons (NATFATIP) will host local and foreign standard-bearers in the global fight against human trafficking at a two-day international conference, scheduled to be held at the Melia Braco resort in Trelawny.

The conference, which will run from July 25 to 26, tops the list of activities planned for Trafficking in Persons Week, which runs from July 22 to 28 under the theme 'From Victim to Survivor: The Hard Road to Recovery' .

However, activities continue until July 30, which is celebrated internationally as World Day against Trafficking in Persons.

Carol Palmer, permanent secretary in the justice ministry and chairman of NATFATIP, told a press conference yesterday at the ministry's Constant Spring Road offices that the event would be a great opportunity for local and overseas agents to collaborate and share ideas on human trafficking.

She explained: "The objectives of the conference are to improve cooperation among regional law-enforcement agencies; increase public awareness to discourage involvement in human trafficking; explore provisions of appropriate protection and assistance to victims, particularly women and children; and the development of an outcome document, which will set out collective strategies in the fight against human trafficking."

Several presenters from Romania, France, the United States of America, and other countries will be joined by local presenters who bring considerable expertise in various aspects of human trafficking.

"Jamaica retained Tier 2 ranking according to the 2018 Human Trafficking report published by the US State Department. Jamaica will continue to scale up activities through partnerships with state and non-state actors," said Palmer.

She added: "There will be more structured engagement with the media as it is my hope that going forward, our national effort will be more proactive. Delegates at the conference will include individuals already involved in Jamaica's campaign against trafficking in persons as well as new partners that we believe will add strategic value to Jamaica's forward agenda to eradicate modern-day slavery."